DOVER ― With the fire danger level rated at a Class 4 for the duration of the weekend, departments responded to calls within their own communities as well as provided mutual aid to a number of neighboring towns and cities.

A handful of brush fires were reported in area communities over the weekend. Firefighters said they did not know the causes but were investigating.

On Saturday, a brush fire was reported in the Silver Street area near the train tracks in Rochester.On Sunday, the Rochester Fire Department responded to a call along Whitehouse Road where a brush fire had developed behind the Amazon Campground property. Tankers from Berwick, South Berwick and Somersworth Forestry responded to a call for mutual aid.That fire was knocked down within about half an hour.

That fire, which rose to second alarm, was described as a patch of land roughly 1,000 feet by 1,000 feet with another patch burning actively as crews worked to contain the first patch.

By early evening that fire was contained.

According to the state Division of Forests and Lands, the Class 4 fire danger rating for both Strafford and Rockingham counties means fires will start easily from all causes and will spread and increase in intensity rapidly. Spot fires can occur and fires have the potential to burn deeply.